Chinese Trade Bilateralism and Latin America: The Case of China-Chile Free Trade Agreement

Abstract

In 2001 China’s entrance to the World Trade Organization represented a major threat to developing countries including those from Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. Countries such as Mexico were worried about its inclusion for China’s competitiveness was a great challenge to face; others such as Chile took advantage of the benefits of being part of the multilateral forum and began negotiations to formalize bilateral cooperation. What are the main characteristics of bilateralism? What benefits can China bring as a trading partner within the framework of an fta? Can the Chilean case be taken into consideration for other countries to pursue bilateral agreements with China? This paper has the objective of answering those ques-tions through an analysis of the scope of trade agreements, the Chinese integration to the World Trade Organization and its free trade agreements network, and the integration of China with Latin America, with a special focus on its relationship with Chile as the first country in the continent to have an agreement with China.